Acquisition of IFSC block for just over €15m – Irish Times 27 January 2016

Four daughters of the late Tim Mahony, founding chairman of Toyota Ireland, have bought a high-profile office investment in Dublin’s IFSC for just over €15 million

The sisters, Joan Ward, Sarah Tormey, Jenny Howes and Mary Mahony, all directors of Killeen Property, have made the investment more than a year after selling Mount Juliet hotel and golf resort in Co Kilkeny and the adjoining 840-acre Ballylinch stud farm for around €60 million. The stud was bought by the American billionaire John Malone who subsequently acquired Sir Anthony O’Reilly’s Castlemartin estate in Co Kildare.

Killeen Property will get a net return of 6.25 per cent on 2 Custom House Plaza, a prominent 18-year-old block owned by an investment syndicate assembled by Irish Life Assurance.

The five-storey block with a floor area of 2,727sq m (29,430sq ft) and 29 car parking spaces has experienced a changing of the guard in recent years with all the original tenants replaced and rents largely recast.

Rent roll

The rental income of €990,000 per annum reflects an average rate of just over €344 per sq m (€32 per sq ft), well below the top rents in the IFSC of close to €484 per sq m (€45 per sq ft).

The new owners will be able to pitch for significantly higher rents as well as boosting the income from the car park by an additional €40,000 by leasing 14 spaces which are currently unused.

The block is fully let to PTSB Finance, TD Global Finance, Calypso, Robert Walters and Squared Financial Services with a weighted average unexpired lease term of 5.19 years.

The investment block is one of six interconnecting office buildings located around a central liner glass atrium.

Number 2 is located on the north side of Custom House Harbour, adjacent to the Luas, Dart and mainline railway services at Connolly Station and the bus services at Busaras.